- Title
- Novas, eclipses and the English stage, 1598-1608
- Creator
- Butler, Guy F
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date
- 1997
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/457738
- Identifier
- vital:75675
- Identifier
- https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA1011582X_6
- Description
- In the sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries very few kings, queens or councillors or, indeed, ordinary folk, made any important decisions without consulting their horoscopes. There is no reason to believe that Shakespeare was more sceptical about astrological prediction than his tough-minded Queen; but, even if he were sceptical, he could and did exploit his audience's susceptibility for dramatic ends. A reference to the stars could lift his action from the earthly to the cosmic. Astrological phenomena signalled the involvement of the Heavens with human affairs. In a sense, he and his fellow-dramatists had no option but to exploit the Heavens, because the canopy over half of the Elizabethan stage was referred to as 'the heavens.' It was adorned with paintings of the planets and the signs of the Zodiac. The heavens were built into his theatre, Let us start with eclipses of the sun and moon.
- Format
- 11 pages, pdf
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Shakespeare in Southern Africa, Butler, F.G., 1997. Novas, eclipses and the English stage, 1598-1608. Shakespeare in Southern Africa, 10(1), pp.33-43, Shakespeare in Southern Africa volume 10 number 1 33 43 1997 2071-7504
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Shakespeare in Southern Africa Statement (https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sisa/about)
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Collections
Butler, Frederick Guy (Prof)
RU Department of Literary Studies in English
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